Privacy and Data Protection

Womble Carlyle's "Privacy Bulletin" highlights select developments that might be of interest to entities that collect or use personally identifiable information. Protecting a person's privacy is a challenge to businesses, universities, and all other entities that collect personal information, particularly given the proliferation of personally identifiable information contained within consumer and employee records. Womble Carlyle issues its Privacy Bulletin twice a month.

Tuesday, March 29, 2016, 6:23 PM

We have assembled our “Top 12 TCPA Dos and Don’ts”.We’re certain others exist that could be added to this list, but this is an introductory sanity check for a company’s outbound calling practices under TCPA laws and regulations. (Of course, this is not intended as nor should be considered legal advice, and you should consult an attorney for specific legal advice involving your particular business practices.)

(1)Maintain an up-to-date, company-specific, written Do-Not-Call Policy to be produced on-demand?

(2)Need to know the different requirements applicable to autodialed and prerecorded calls to wireless numbers and residential landlines, identify wireless numbers, and ensure compliant call handling before dialing?

(3)Treat autodialed texts the same as any autodialed call to a wireless number?

(4) Keep records of “prior express written consent” to receive autodialed calls or texts, or prerecorded calls, with name and associated telephone number of consenting party, and consent language?

(6) Scrub your call list at least monthly against the National Do-Not-Call Registry?

(7) Maintain a current Company-specific Do-Not-Call List?

(8) Place a telemarketing call to someone on a Do-Not-Call list who contacts a customer service center and requests a call back?

(9) Discontinue placing calls to a requesting party no later than 30 days after receiving a Do-Not-Call Request?

(10) Okay to place autodialed or prerecorded debt collection calls to someone who leaves their cell phone number on an application for service or an admission form?

(11) Avoid calls to reassigned wireless numbers once reassigned even if intending to call the person to whom it was once assigned?

(12) Know whether your dialing equipment has the “capacity” to store or produce numbers using a random or sequential number generator and to dial those numbers, even if capacity isn’t utilized?

BONUS vicarious liability points: Manage your risk by outsourcing outbound telemarketing to an outside vendor and “lead generator” who guarantees TCPA compliance, works on a commission for sales basis, and will agree to indemnify for losses?

ANSWERS (We won't force you to turn to p. 73):

1. DO

2. DO

3. DO

4. DO

5. DON’T

6. DO, unless you have verified that calls are to someone with an established business relationship as defined in the TCPA Rules.